Entertaining
Rica’s Pozoles
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Rica surprised me with this terrific soup the other day. Pozoles have a rustic vibe, a fresh taste that is spicy and simply delicious. We all loved it. This soup is a great option for casual entertaining. Set-up a little condiment bar of garnishes and invite your friends to customize to their liking. It would be an excellent diversion from the usual Super Bowl Sunday fare. Your guests will be so impressed, you don’t have to share how easy it is to prepare.
Rica’s Pozoles
Serves 6
1 whole pork tri tip
5 pork neck bones
3 whole cloves of garlic
½ medium white onion chopped in half
5 dried chilies
1 16 oz can of hominy drained and rinsed
Cover meat, bones, garlic and onion with water and bring to boil. Turn heat down to medium and cook covered for two hours.
Soak dried red chili in hot water until soft. Put in a blender and puree.
After the pork is finished cooking add hominy and pureed chili to the stock. Cook for another ten minutes. Just prior to serving the soup, pull apart and shred the chunks of meat (I like to use two forks). Discard bones and large pieces of onion.
Garnish the soup with shredded cabbage, diced green onion, chopped radishes and a squeeze of lemon wedge.
Green Garlic Dip
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
Green garlic is garlic that is harvested early – which is now for us in Santa Barbara. This garlic is not as pungent and potent as mature garlic. The green stems add a bright freshness to what you are cooking. I often use it to flash-fry Ridgeback shrimp (Kim taught me that). Recently, I created this green garlic salad dressing or dip and a couple of nights ago, I served it to some friends for dinner. They wanted the recipe, so I figured why not pass it on to you too? It’s tangy, garlicky and keeps you coming back for more. I served it over chilled romaine leaves and baked croutons made from French bread. I plan on serving it for a yummy and original dip for Super Bowl Sunday.
Yields about 1 ½ cups
½ cup mayo preferably home made
(I recommend Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home for the easiest homemade mayo recipe ever)
½ cup plain Greek yogurt — low or nonfat is fine
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Meyer lemon (they are currently flourishing in my back yard and are less acidic than regular lemons, but use what you have on hand)
2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
¼ cup chopped green garlic with stems
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
In a food processor fitter with a steal attachment puree the first 7 ingredients until completely smooth. Add olive oil slowly followed by salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning and serve over greens or as a dip with Crudités ….give those football fans some healthy veggies!
Beautiful Ranunculus
Monday, February 1st, 2010
I braved the stormy weather a week ago Friday for my weekly trek to the farmers market. God bless the farmers who weathered the rain and the stylist who made rubber boots chic! I was on the hunt for the perfect flowers for my Saturday night dinner party.
In knew I wanted something casual, non-stinky (flowers that smell are not a good match for a dinner table bouquet) and simply lovely. I spotted Ranunculus and was filled with glee- a perfect match. Ranunculus are currently in season and so beautiful, I often think of them as the winter sister of the rose. They bloom in a variety of gorgeous colors from (canary yellow to deep crimson). A divine bargain at three dollars a bunch, I grabbed 10 burnt orange bushels and headed home.
I rummaged through my very neatly organized flower vase shelves in my garage (check my recent blog post on starting the new year with your home clean and organized) to find the right container to make the arrangement be an uncomplicated showstopper. I decided on a rectangular (14×4) copper pot for this arrangement and in no time I had a truly special and effortless bouquet.
I simply trimmed the stems, making the flowers about 8 to 10 inches long and stuffed them in the container filled with water from my outdoor flower sink. I have a reverse osmosis water system in the house, so I always make sure to use water from the outside so the flowers last longer in the vase. Ranunculus will last about a week. Gorgeous! The arrangement was worth my wet car interior and frizzy hair. Oh, the meal was pretty good, too.
New Year’s Eve Menu and Blood Orange Martinis
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
In an effort to keep things casual (and my desire not to spend the entire night in the kitchen), I am creating a menu that will facilitate our friends simply grazing throughout the evening. Starting with simple appetizers of radish halves smeared with Devonshire cream butter and sprinkled with grey salt; cured meats; and hard-boiled eggs topped with homemade aioli. Next will be a Romaine wedge salad with gorgonzola dressing; creamy potato salad; fried chicken and Andouille gumbo; and buttermilk biscuits. Lemon meringue pie will be served late night.
* The gumbo, potato salad and pie came directly from Donald Link’s Cookbook “Real Cajun: Rustic Home Cooking from Donald Link’s Louisiana” http://www.herbsaint.com/
Blood Orange Martini
Citrus in Santa Barbara is unbelievably delicious. I am crazy about, and covet blood oranges and anxiously await the winter months so I can devour them. Blood oranges are a cross between a navel orange and a tangerine with their distinctive feature being the dark color flesh. I picked these oranges up at Tri Country Produce today and since they are in season, they were reasonably priced.
We will be drinking plenty of champagne tomorrow, so I thought it would be nice to start off the evening with Blood Orange Martinis.
Here is what you’ll need:
Juice of four blood oranges
Juice of two tangerines
1 tablespoon of Agave nectar
Grab your favorite vodka, fill a shaker with ice, add the juice and SHAKE !!
Garnish with candied blood orange peels.
Fall Dinner Menu
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
We always travel to my family’s house for Thanksgiving, so I’ve never had true ownership of the holiday. My mom leads the charge and my sisters and I pitch in with our assigned dishes… it’s been that way since I was five. Knowing this, I often host a festive dinner right before the Thanksgiving holiday for close friends here in Santa Barbara. No turkey, but fall fare straight from the garden and farmers market, and this year, seasoned with inspiration from our recent trip to Piedmont.
Here’s a peek at the menu this week:
Tamarillo and prosciutto with mint
Tamarillo, also called tree tomato, is flourishing in my garden. It’s a small melon- like fruit with the consistency of a peach. It’s great with curries, on it’s own, or with cured meat. Tamarillo has been a great and unusual addition to my garden!
Drink: Gruner Veltliner from the Wachau region
Risotto with butternut squash, guanciale, and sage
I created this recipe the other day for lunch. It was delicious and easy to pull together. Roast the squash while you cook the rice and the timing works out perfectly. A good substitute for guanciale (which is cured pork cheek) is pancetta. I fried the sage in a mixture of butter and olive oil and used them as a crunchy garnish.
Drink: A bright and acidic red wine like a Barbera d’Asti
Cherry guava sorbet
Cherry guavas are so divine…tart and yummy. We have two bushes near the tennis court and we often snack on them between sets. This cherry guava sorbet looks festive and is a tasty palette cleanser in addition to being a fun mid meal treat for the kids.
Farmers market roasted game hens with roasted Brussel sprouts
I have had my eye on these game hens at the farmers market for weeks. I was never a fan of Brussels sprouts until I had them roasted — they are delicious and work quite well with the little hens.
Drink: A traditionally styled Barolo.
Robiola with honey and hazelnuts
At a dinner near Alba Italy (more of a feast for gluttons) with our friend Roberto Conterno from Giacomo Conterno, I fell in love with these three ingredients. The honey was refined, light tasting and was combined with fresh hazelnuts. The hazelnuts are harvested in the fall and are simply amazing when you eat them fresh. Robiola is a traditional cheese from Piedmont; it is made from goat or ewes milk and has a bright and acidic taste, all the while remaining creamy. I found a big round of Robiola at C’est Cheese here in Santa Barbara.
Drink: RWC Charleston Sercial Madeira. Madeira is a great after dinner option and so tasty… it’s especially good because it has a long shelf life after it is opened. Be it as it may, in a group setting it will most likely be polished off. Cheers!
